New package sizes reported for existing
foods are also researched to confirm that they actually exist
and were not mistakenly reported by the respondent (e.g. a
16.9 ounce bottle of juice mistakenly reported as 169
ounces). When a reported food does not match an existing
food code or a new size description is not present in the
database, Survey Net has special features for handling
these situations, marking these items with temporary
placeholders called ‘‘unknown foods’’ or ‘‘unknown
amounts’’. Once a month, all new cases of unknown foods
and unknown amounts are listed from Survey Net and the
identification process begins. Information for commercial
products is collected over the Internet, from grocery stores,
restaurants, or by direct contact with food manufacturers.
Because many new products are discontinued after a brief
time in the market, new items are not added to the food
coding system immediately.